With the change to small learning communities in high schools in the Highline School District and increasing importance placed on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), as well as district budget constraints, some parents are concerned the arts are being ignored.

Barbara McMichaels, whose children attend schools in the Highline School district, said she is no longer seeing art classes in the schools.

"Classes that don't directly result in a WASL score have been marginalized," said McMichaels.

Catherine Carbone Rogers, director of communications and community engagement for the Highline School District, explained the district's approach to the WASL and the arts.

"You do have to teach what's tested, but not to the exclusion of everything else," said Rogers.

Rogers disputes the claim that art and music programs have been deemphasized in the Highline district.

Rogers said the district requires one fine arts credit for high school graduation, up from the half-credit requirement five years ago. A credit is equivalent to a one-year class.

Art is commonly taught in elementary schools at least weekly, according to Rogers.

Two of the district's four middle schools have full-time art teachers and all the high schools offer arts programs, she added.

While the Highline School District had to cut $3.5 million from their budget for the 2008-09 school year, Rogers emphasized that the district has made it a priority to meet its budget without cutting arts programs.

"There is an appreciation for arts education in our schools," said Rogers. "We have not been able to expand that because of budget constraints."

Paula Hawkins, whose position as the district's fine arts coordinator was eliminated when she retired along with some other administrative jobs, said there has been a lot of change in that curriculum over the past few years.

Hawkins worked for the district for 12 years before retiring in 2003. She has started KidSounds, YouthSounds and TeenSounds Northwest, local choirs for kids in grades three through 12. The groups are affiliated with Choral Sounds Northwest, a Burien-based adult choral group.

Hawkins noted that a significant change in recent years was cutting choir from the majority of middle schools and high schools.

"It's been really hard to see all the choir programs dying," said Hawkins.

Rogers points out that Pacific Middle's choir went on tour to San Francisco last year.

Mt. Rainier High also has a choir and the Health Sciences and Human Services High School on the Evergreen campus had a choir until it was canceled because too few students signed up for it, according to Rogers.

When a popular teacher leaves an arts or music program it sometimes leads to declining interest among students, she added.

In addition to choir, Hawkins said the survival of all of the bands in the district is in question.

Rogers noted that consideration was given to moving Tyee's band program outside of the regular school day, but Superintendent John Welch specifically wanted the program to be held during school. Band is now offered as a class in Tyee's Global Connections High School,

Welch's role in keeping the Tyee band as part of the school day reinforces the superintendent's often-stated commitment to supporting bands in the district's secondary schools, Rogers noted.

Alisa Grey, a straight A Advanced Placement senior at Highline High School, wanted to take choir and woodshop, but the programs had been eliminated. She said that she was really disappointed when choir was eliminated.

Grey is passionate about playing piano and singing--activities she pursues outside of school. She has been part of the TeenSounds choir for several years.

Her father, John Grey, praised the TeenSounds program and said the only problem is not enough people know about it.

"(Students) don't know it exists. It is outside of the school; they don't hear about it," said John Grey.